4 Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day When You're Single

February 14, a date that is highly anticipated by some, dreaded by others, and for many, it’s just another regular day. Valentine’s Day is a popular and wonderful holiday that allows people in romantic relationships to go the extra mile and celebrate their love with their significant other. For those in a relationship, there are gift ideas to consider, endless kinds of boxes of chocolate to gawk at, and special dates to be excited about. For many others, however, Valentine’s Day can be a brutal reminder of the fact being single is a lonely road and sometimes, you just want that special someone to be ooey gooey with.

Whether this reality makes you sad, angry, disappointed, or happy, the reality is that the day is coming up and you shouldn’t let yourself be consumed by the V-day blues (you can, but I don’t think you should). Valentine’s Day is a day about celebrating love, right? Single or not, I advise you to celebrate love in all forms, whether that means showing yourself some love or giving friends and family some affection, so do just that! Though being single on the international day of love can be tough, you can still have an enjoyable day by yourself or surrounded by other loving people. Are you single and dreading Valentine’s Day coming up? Check out these four ways to celebrate the special day without a significant other!

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1. Have a Movie Marathon Featuring Your Celeb Cutie: We all have a celebrity crush at some point in our lives. I, for one, have had many over the years but my favorite crush has been the beloved Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, little old me starting loving Leo ever since I saw Titanic as a kid. One fun thing to do to lighten the mood on Valentine’s Day is to have a full-day movie marathon with your favorite celebrity crush. Pop yourself a big bowl of popcorn, hit the store and get a heart-shaped box of chocolates, crack open a bottle of wine, light a candle and enjoy a fun-filled day with your crush! For bonus lovey time with your crush, binge some Youtube videos like interviews featuring them!

2. Have a Spa Day: Who doesn’t love a spa day? I know I do! We all get caught up with the ebb and flow of life and often neglect ourselves in the process. Valentine’s Day is dedicated to love, so why not love yourself? Head to the store and stock up on face masks, a new nail polish, nice smelling lotion, and a nice pair of fuzzy slippers to give yourself the ultimate spa treatment! You can indulge in a cleansing face mask while painting your nails and cozying up in your new slippers, what more could you ask? To give yourself even more special treatment, light some candles and play a calming playlist to get yourself in a relaxed and tranquil mood.

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3. Spread the Love: Though Valentine’s Day is typically considered to be a day for couples, this doesn’t mean that you can’t spread the love to others in your own way! For instance, you could go to the store and get a box of Valentines to share with friends and family, a small gesture like this could make their day! If you want to go above and beyond to spread the love, volunteer at a shelter/soup kitchen or donate canned goods or clothes to a cause that means something to you. If none of this appeals to you and is more for low-key kinds of love, simply do a kind act for someone. This could be holding the door, saying thank you, letting someone cut in front of you in line, etc. Whatever the act is, someone will appreciate it!

4. Treat Yo Self (Literally): Being in a relationship means sharing your food with your lover (something I am guilty of not doing a solid 98% of the time). However, if you are single, guess what? You don’t have to share your food with anyone, how awesome is that? To celebrate this lovely reality, treat yourself to a lavish breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert and enjoy it all by yourself! By lavish, I mean whatever appeals to you and makes you happy! Lavish for me is a taco bowl from one of my favorite local Mexican restaurants for $8, but for you, it could be a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Whatever it may be, just relish in the fact that it is all yours and no one else’s!

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Valentine’s Day may still be a popular holiday for couples, but for more and more single people, the day of love that comes once a year doesn’t sting as bad as it once did.

According to a survey conducted by the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB), “Of the 654 respondents, 235 said they considered Valentine’s Day ‘just another Hallmark holiday.’ 474 said they felt no pressure to date on Valentine’s Day, and 295 said they didn’t plan on celebrating. In each case, those opinions were the majority.”

So single people, worry not, there are plenty of fun things to do while couples are doing couple things. If you happen to do any of the things I suggested, I would love to hear from you! As always, good luck and Happy Singles Awareness Day!

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social justice advocate, avid lover of 90s fashion, the proud mama of a yorkie named "nugget", feminist, body positive, weight trainer in progress, classic rock fanatic, and reality TV addict!
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